Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz apologized on Thursday for remarks comparing Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-Wis.) policies to domestic violence.
“I shouldn’t have used the words I used,” she said in a statement.
The congresswoman from Florida explained that she was trying to highlight how Walker’s policies “have been bad for Wisconsin women.”
The Republican governor’s record “speaks for itself,” she said, outlining his policies including the requirement for ultrasounds for women seeking abortions, the rejection of federal funding for preventative healthcare and the repeal of an equal pay law.
{mosads}Wasserman Schultz also responded to critics by noting Republican lawmakers’ opposition to reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.
“As for the issue of domestic violence, it’s unacceptable that a majority of Congressional Republicans opposed this critical legislation, of which I was a proud cosponsor, after blocking its reauthorization for more than a year,” she said in her statement.
The Democrat’s apology comes after she came under fire Wednesday for telling a round-table discussion on women’s issues that Walker “has given the women the back of his hand.”
“What Republican Tea Party extremists like Scott Walker are doing is they are grabbing us by the hair and pulling us back. It is not going to happen on our watch,” Wasserman Schultz said.
Republicans quickly blasted the DNC chairwoman. The Republican National Committee’s communications director, Sean Spicer, described the remarks as “desperate.” Even the campaign for Walker’s Democratic challenger, Mary Burke, even suggested Wasserman Schultz crossed a line.
After news of her comments spread, a DNC official said the chairwoman was not trying to belittle victims of domestic violence.